1 Chapter ten
After the disaster of the academic tournament, Principal Kelly had been forced to seek two weeks of full time therapy, and Bayville High had been put on the map as one of the most chaotic schools in the country. The tape that Fred had swiped from the cameramen had been sold to a local TV station, and had soon made national news. By that evening Principal Kelly and his pink panties were famous all over America.
Rogue too, had gotten some of the limelight. Before the Brotherhood had, interrupted the competition, the camera had managed to pick up her amazing display in answering all the questions, and as Pietro pointed out with a smile, she didn't look bad at all on camera.
Of course, the extra attention was not pleasing at all to Rogue, but she was soon able to forget her sorrows when she, Kitty and Kurt went out with the Brotherhood that evening, to celebrate their pulling off one of the greatest High school pranks ever recorded.
They were sitting in the pizza place, Rogue with her head resting on Pietro's chest, too tired to be paying to much attention to anything at all, and Pietro just happy to be close to her. Kurt and Tabby were over by the pool table; Kurt making sure nobody was looking before trying to pot a ball with his tail. Fred, Todd and Lance were all talking to Kitty, who, if Rogue listened closely enough, was agreeing to tutor them in algebra.
Rogue swatted her hand in a feeble attempt to attract her friend's attention. Kitty looked over and smiled at her, as Rogue attempted to warn her.
'Don' let em get you to doit, they goof offs.' She said, as the three boys threw her playful glares.
Pietro laughed softly and kissed her forehead. 'Wakey wakey Rogue'. He said, laughing again as she blearily rubbed her eyes and tried to get up, ending up on the floor. Rogue shook herself and climbed up, now much more awake, and also much more embarrassed.
'Sorry,' she said sheepishly, 'I'm awake now.'
'Good' Lance said, leaning forwards to include everyone at the table in the conversation. 'Because there's something we wanted to talk to you about.'
Rogue raised an eyebrow slightly, quite curious to know why Lance looked so serious all of a sudden.
'Well Rogue, you know we had that talk a while ago, about you leaving the X-men..' Lance said, trailing off as Kitty let out an indignant cry.
'You were going to leave us again? And you didn't tell me? What about Kurt, your brother? And me and Bobby and Scott, we're your friends!' she said, throwing a hurt look in the girls direction.
'Calm down Kitty, I told them I couldn't leave right then, because I had friends and a brother, it just didn't seem appropriate to tell you guys'. Rogue said patiently, causing Kitty to look hurt, but to let out a 'humph', as she folded her arms.
'Anyway' Lance continued, looking at his girlfriend with an amused glint in his eye. 'We wanted to remind you about that offer.'
Rogue looked pained. 'I told you before Lance, I can't leave my brother or my friends, even if the professor and me don't get on. Maybe, maybe sometime soon, but not now.' She said, pleading at him with her eyes.
'Yeah, but what if we changed the offer slightly' Todd said, again attracting her curiosity.
'What do you mean?' Rogue asked cautiously.
'We were going to say, what if Kitty and Kurt came with you.' Lance said, glaring at Todd as though he had challenged his leadership rights.
Both Rogue and Kitty looked shocked and surprised, and behind Rogue, Pietro crossed his fingers tightly and hoped that this turn in events would change her answer. He wanted so much to be around Rogue as much as possible, and her living with them again would be his idea of heaven. And he'd worked with her brother today; Kurt was good fun really, always up for a laugh. Kitty was all right, and really having them all there would be a good thing for the brotherhood. It all depended on their answer though.
Kitty was the first to speak, she looked almost fearful.
'Do you mean, leave the institute? Leave the professor?' she said timidly.
Lance nodded, and Kitty began to shake her head. 'But, he's done so much for me..' she was interrupted as Rogue snorted. Kitty looked at her questioningly.
'I'd gladly leave if it was just the professor there.' She said, a storm beginning to form in her eyes that made everyone round the table just a little bit fearful of her.
'Why though Rogue? You still never told me what went on with you two.' Kitty said, still puzzled over her friends change in attitude towards the Professor.
Rogue took a deep breath. Now was the time to tell them all what had happened that day when she had found out about her powers. She had tried to hold the information back from them, but she knew, deep down, that if she wanted them to believe her about the Professor being dangerous, then she would have to tell them about what happened.
So she did. She told them of her power surge, of Mystique revealing herself as her mother. She talked about the necklace that she was given, and the fact that the Professor had never told her about all of this. She finished by telling them of her mother's warning, and gave them all a few seconds for the information to sink in.
Most people round the table looked like they'd just been caught in a hurricane. Lance alone looked unsurprised, Rogue had told him the whole story before, and he'd been incredibly supportive about it.
'But,' Kitty said, finally finding her tongue. 'If Mystique said it, maybe she's just trying to turn you against the Professor, I mean you're so powerful.. Maybe she's working for Magneto.'
'No', Rogue said firmly, 'she wouldn't lie about that. She cares about Kurt, and me in her own twisted way, and she wants to protect us. And there's something else. I looked into the Professors mind, when he saw me in his office, and there's something in there, something almost evil.' She finished, unsure of what else to say.
The news that the Professor might be evil didn't really shock the Brotherhood. Pietro put his arms round Rogue's shoulders and held her close. Kitty however, looked scandalised.
'But the Professor cannot be evil. He took us in, he's teaching us how to control our powers, to use them for good.'
'And he also controls us as well.' Rogue finished for her, then explained. 'Look, the Professor has the power to decide how fast our powers develop, and what we use them for. Think about what happens if we use our powers without telling him, we get punished, we get told to 'control our powers'. But he's really the one controlling the powers, and that's why he didn't tell me about who I really am. He knew he wouldn't be able to control my power, and he wouldn't be able to contain it. If I hadn't found out from Mystique, I might never have known I had these powers, or that I could touch.' She finished, and Pietro held her even closer.
Kitty began to nod slowly, as if she were beginning to come to terms with what Rogue had said.
'Please Kit' Lance pleaded with her. 'The guy will be trouble, just come with us, we'll manage together.'
'No, not now'.
It was Rogue that had spoken, her face sad but firmly set. The Brotherhood looked aghast.
'We can't. Things down at the mansion have changed. There are good people in there, and they need to be warned as well. They need a chance to get out too, but I need time to convince them.' She said simply.
'And is Summers one of these good people?' Lance asked, a slight frown appearing on his face. Pietro said nothing, but she felt his hold on her loosen slightly, like water trickling through her hands.
She met Lance head on. 'Yes he is. He's stuck up, but he's not evil, and he doesn't deserve to be treated like that.' she spoke firmly, and lance was silent for a few moments before he finally nodded quickly, an unspoken understanding formed between them.
Rogue looked round at them all. 'It's going to happen soon, we're going to have to make a choice, unite together, X-men and Brotherhood, and live as young people trying to make our mark on the world, or stay as we are, and drown in the world we already live in. we'll come and join you soon guys, but only if you're willing to accept us.'
The rest of the table nodded mutely, all shocked by just how eloquent Rogue had become. Even Pietro couldn't argue with her, even about the Scott Summers aspect. He'd never been this scared about losing a girl before, and knew more and more each day, that he was falling in love with Rogue. They had to stay together, or he'd go crazy.
Rogue seemed to sense what he was thinking. She knew Pietro was insecure about her and other guys, even though they weren't officially going out. But was he right about her and Scott? Was there something there? She pushed the thoughts out of her head as she leaned in and kissed quicksilver softly on his jawbone, and whispered good night in his ear. She filled the kiss with all the tenderness she possessed, and Pietro was reduced to a gooey lump on the floor.
Rogue smiled as she got up. She waved to the rest of the Brotherhood as Kitty kissed Lance goodnight, and the two girls left the pizza parlour. The four boys sat around the table, absolutely exhausted, as Kurt and Tabby came bounding over.
'So' Kurt grinned, his arm round Tabby's shoulders 'did we miss anything?'
Rogue and Kitty made it back to the mansion about thirty seconds before curfew, laughing at the disappointed look on Logan's face as he saw them enter the mansion. Both girls were too tired to really stay up, and as Kitty won the battle for the bathroom, Rogue was forced to leave for the shower room on the other side of the building. She checked she had everything as she was walking down the hallway, and didn't even notice Scott was there until she walked right into him.
The force wasn't very big, but both teenagers were startled to see the other standing there. There was a pause, and then Scott said.
'Congratulations on the tournament today, even if it was eventually called off.' He said, knowing exactly who was responsible for the chaos. He even suspected that Kurt may have been involved, but he wasn't going to report him to Professor Xavier. In all honesty, Scott felt recently, that the less he had to do with the Prof the better. The man had always hidden things from them before, and Scott had always accepted that it was for his own good. But lately, well, the guy had just been a little strange. It crept him out.
'Thank you,' Rogue said quietly, stirring him from his thoughts. She opened her mouth slightly, hovering on the edge of saying something, before she continued. 'And thank you again, for saying that stuff you did this morning.'
Scott raised his eyes to her face hopefully, and had no idea what was hidden behind it. 'Hey, I was just trying to make you feel better about wearing a tie!' he said, laughing away the awkwardness.
Rogue joined in, her giggling ringing like bells throughout the corridor. 'Well, you did more than that; you reminded me who I was. I'm so caught up in all these changes, I guess I'd almost forgotten.' She said, not giving him any hint as to what she meant by that.
Scott nodded, pretending that he understood her, when he knew he wasn't even close. Rogue was a complete mystery to him, and still he couldn't get enough of her. He was beginning to believe that he was in love with her. Which wasn't good, being that he was pretty sure Pietro Maximoff felt the same way.
Scott chanced another glance at the object of his affections, who looked just as deep in thought as he was. Scott managed to mumble his good nights, and Rogue, holding up her wash things by means of explanation, took of down the hall.
Scott collapsed against the wall, and wondered what the hell he was going to do.
The next day, school had been called off, due to extensive damage in the auditorium from the sprinkler system, and the absence of a principal. The news was broken over the radio that morning, to much applause amongst the X-men. Scott looked around, an idea forming in his head.
'Hey' he said, looking around at the others. 'What do you say we take the convertible and the jeep, and head to the beach for the day?'
The suggestion was met with enthusiastic response from all round the table, and Scott smiled. Whatever problems his infatuation with Rogue had caused, she certainly had helped him try and get rid of his 'stuck up' image. He met her eyes across the table and she smiled, as though she too had been thinking that he'd loosened up recently.
After everyone had agreed, and Logan had grudgingly Okayed the trip, the x-men left the table to grab their stuff, all except for Jean, who got up from the table and headed for the Professors study. Rogue and Scott followed her, Scott calling after her.
'Jean, aren't you coming?' he asked, a little surprised. Sure they hadn't really been getting on recently, but Jean was his oldest friend, he didn't want to stop being friends with her entirely.
Jean stared at him for a moment, and at that point Scott had a funny feeling she might have been reading his mind. She smiled slowly and shook her head. Scott shrugged and went to fetch his pack. He noticed that Rogue still hadn't gone upstairs.
'Don't' tell me you're not going.' He groaned, and Rogue grinned, waved her hand, and a fully packed bag came flying down the stairs.
'Ready!' she said, smiling sweetly, as Scott rolled his eyes and began to climb the stairs.
Jean practically ran to the Professors study.
Charles Xavier was very tired. He had never stretched his incredible mind so very far, and the effects were rather taxing on him. Rogue had undergone several dosages of the poison he and Jean had created, and still he was unable to penetrate the barriers she had created around her mind. It was just so frustrating; having a power and not being able to use it on the person it was most need for.
The door flew open, and Jean came storming in, causing the Professor to smile. True, Scott had always been his favourite recruit, owing to his position as deputy, but he'd always had a soft spot for Jean too, as she was a fellow telepath, and he had big hopes for the two of them. But Rogue was causing trouble in that area too, she was beginning to make Scott suspicious of him, he could see it. And she was creating problems between Scott and Jean, and the Professor greatly disapproved of that. That young lady thought she could take Jean's place, just because she had some psychic ability. She thought she could take the x-men away from him, that she could take Scott away from him and Jean. All the points added up to one thing. Rogue needed to be gotten rid of, it simply wasn't enough anymore that she lost some of her power; she was just too much trouble.
Jean waited until the Professor was through with whatever he was thinking about before she spoke, and when she did it was with a shaky voice.
'Professor, the poison, it's having no effect at all. She can still use the telekonisis flawlessly, she..'
'That is why we must increase the strength and dosage Jean.' The Professor said, cutting her off. It was important that they dealt with Rogue as quickly as possible, before she became too big a power.
'I feel though' he said, touching his chin lightly, and feeling a small layer of stubble there. It had been years since he'd had stubble. 'I feel that that alone is not enough, we must make plans to deal with Rogue.' He said, beckoning Jean forward as he outlined his carefully constructed plan to her. Jean listened carefully, and a part of her was appalled by what she heard.
'It is necessary Jean, do get rid of Rogue, don't you agree?'
Jean didn't hesitate for even a second before she agreed.
The X-men were lucky enough to catch the beach on a glorious day. The sun was shining brightly in a cloudless sky, and the water was warm and crystal clear. Once you got over the salty aroma that floated in the air, and the obvious presence of salt in the sandwiches, it really wasn't bad at all. That's what Rogue thought as she stretched out luxuriously on her towel, marvelling again at how wonderful it felt to expose her skin to the sunshine. The boys were engaged in a rather interesting game of volleyball, made interesting by Kurt's unusual tactics.
Rogue and Kitty laughed as Evan tried again to explain to Kurt that you couldn't teleport higher up to get a better aim at the other team, and that knocking people over wasn't the actual point of volley ball.
Kitty surveyed Rogue from behind her sunglasses. 'Wow, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were, like, beginning to get a tan!' she said, giggling as Rogue put on an outraged expression.
'Me, Rogue? Get a tan? Never!!' she exclaimed, before having to duck as Kurt sent the volleyball flying in her direction, followed by a cry from Evan.
'The point isn't to hit the spectators either Kurt.'
The elf materialised behind the girls, picked up the ball, laughed at the sandy patch on his sister's back and said 'I know!'
Rogue couldn't even manage half a glare before she broke into laughter again. It felt good, she couldn't remember laughing as much as she had in the last week or so.
The X-men were disturbed then by a group of figures making their way up the beach, as they came into focus, the outline of Fred could easily be distinguished. Rogue tensed up, remembering what she had said to them the night before, would they do what she'd asked them to?
Lance led the group over to them, and smiled reassuringly at Rogue, before Evan stepped up to Pietro, glaring. Stupid Evan, Rogue thought angrily, he needs to forget about the rivalries.
Lance however, didn't pay any attention to them; his eyes were locked on Scott, who walked right up to them. There was something different about the way in which they stared each other out, it wasn't so much confrontational, and it was more as though they were working out which side each was really on.
From behind Scott, Bobby spoke up, rather bravely. 'What are you guys doing here?'
It was Tabby who answered, laughter still ringing in her voice. 'It was Lance, he seems to have a homing radar for Kitty!' she moved to run away, but was surprised to see that Lance didn't move. Kitty however, blushed furiously.
Something changed in Scott's face, and his eyes narrowed. He turned away from Lance, and walked several feet away down the beach. He picked up something, and again faced avalanche, this time with the volleyball in his arms, and a small smile creeping up the corners of his mouth.
'Fancy a game?' he said impassively, and Lance smiled back.
'Sure'.
The rest of the X-men let out the breath they'd been holding, and all seemed to have a new lease of pent up energy, as everyone agreed to join in the game, though Kurt was told that if he used his powers he would have to sit in a sin bin for the remainder of the game. Tabby even went so far as to draw him a sin bin in the sand, labelling it with a stick, writing 'Kurt's little sin bin, a place where all the naughty elves go.'
Evan looked at Pietro from the other side of the net, saying 'this is going to be sweet, I'm gonna cream you Maximoff!'
Pietro caught Rogue's eye before he replied.
'Sure Daniels, whatever you say.'
It was one of the best days both groups had had in a long time, with everybody rather glad that they had decided to do battle on the court instead of with fists like all the other times. And they had fun, without having to think about insults, or being tensed and ready for a fight all the time. Rogue was ecstatic.
The sun was beginning to set as Pietro took her hand and literally whisked her away. He stopped with Rogue in his arms, and she looked around her to find that they were alone, and staring out at the sun casting shadows on the ocean waves. Rogue smiled and sank into his embrace.
'It's been a good day,' she murmured against his chest, and he stroked her hair gently, both listening to the gently lapping of the tides, glad to find moments like these that they wanted to last forever.
Rogue let go and looked up into his face, before pulling him down towards her, giving him a kiss that thanked him more than words could say for how he controlled himself on the beach. She broke the kiss many seconds later, and Pietro backed away a little, his face a little dazed.
'This day just got better.' He said, and Rogue smirked, sinking again into his arms, settling down to listen to the sea.
'Promise me' Pietro said, 'promise me you'll never leave me, without an explanation. I'd go crazy without you.'
Rogue, sighed her eyes half closed. 'I promise you Pietro, never.'
They stayed like that until the moon took over the suns watch, and the waves turned dark before them.
DISCLAIMER: Characters and situation are the property of Marvel and the WB
AUTHORS NOTE: See, told you I'd get it up quickly! Well, sometime soon we're going to see just what Professor X's dastardly plan is, and things are going to get very rocky for the mutants. Ah well, they'll pull through, I promise you. Well, most of them anyway. Thank you all for reviewing, please keep it up, I need them for inspiration!
After the disaster of the academic tournament, Principal Kelly had been forced to seek two weeks of full time therapy, and Bayville High had been put on the map as one of the most chaotic schools in the country. The tape that Fred had swiped from the cameramen had been sold to a local TV station, and had soon made national news. By that evening Principal Kelly and his pink panties were famous all over America.
Rogue too, had gotten some of the limelight. Before the Brotherhood had, interrupted the competition, the camera had managed to pick up her amazing display in answering all the questions, and as Pietro pointed out with a smile, she didn't look bad at all on camera.
Of course, the extra attention was not pleasing at all to Rogue, but she was soon able to forget her sorrows when she, Kitty and Kurt went out with the Brotherhood that evening, to celebrate their pulling off one of the greatest High school pranks ever recorded.
They were sitting in the pizza place, Rogue with her head resting on Pietro's chest, too tired to be paying to much attention to anything at all, and Pietro just happy to be close to her. Kurt and Tabby were over by the pool table; Kurt making sure nobody was looking before trying to pot a ball with his tail. Fred, Todd and Lance were all talking to Kitty, who, if Rogue listened closely enough, was agreeing to tutor them in algebra.
Rogue swatted her hand in a feeble attempt to attract her friend's attention. Kitty looked over and smiled at her, as Rogue attempted to warn her.
'Don' let em get you to doit, they goof offs.' She said, as the three boys threw her playful glares.
Pietro laughed softly and kissed her forehead. 'Wakey wakey Rogue'. He said, laughing again as she blearily rubbed her eyes and tried to get up, ending up on the floor. Rogue shook herself and climbed up, now much more awake, and also much more embarrassed.
'Sorry,' she said sheepishly, 'I'm awake now.'
'Good' Lance said, leaning forwards to include everyone at the table in the conversation. 'Because there's something we wanted to talk to you about.'
Rogue raised an eyebrow slightly, quite curious to know why Lance looked so serious all of a sudden.
'Well Rogue, you know we had that talk a while ago, about you leaving the X-men..' Lance said, trailing off as Kitty let out an indignant cry.
'You were going to leave us again? And you didn't tell me? What about Kurt, your brother? And me and Bobby and Scott, we're your friends!' she said, throwing a hurt look in the girls direction.
'Calm down Kitty, I told them I couldn't leave right then, because I had friends and a brother, it just didn't seem appropriate to tell you guys'. Rogue said patiently, causing Kitty to look hurt, but to let out a 'humph', as she folded her arms.
'Anyway' Lance continued, looking at his girlfriend with an amused glint in his eye. 'We wanted to remind you about that offer.'
Rogue looked pained. 'I told you before Lance, I can't leave my brother or my friends, even if the professor and me don't get on. Maybe, maybe sometime soon, but not now.' She said, pleading at him with her eyes.
'Yeah, but what if we changed the offer slightly' Todd said, again attracting her curiosity.
'What do you mean?' Rogue asked cautiously.
'We were going to say, what if Kitty and Kurt came with you.' Lance said, glaring at Todd as though he had challenged his leadership rights.
Both Rogue and Kitty looked shocked and surprised, and behind Rogue, Pietro crossed his fingers tightly and hoped that this turn in events would change her answer. He wanted so much to be around Rogue as much as possible, and her living with them again would be his idea of heaven. And he'd worked with her brother today; Kurt was good fun really, always up for a laugh. Kitty was all right, and really having them all there would be a good thing for the brotherhood. It all depended on their answer though.
Kitty was the first to speak, she looked almost fearful.
'Do you mean, leave the institute? Leave the professor?' she said timidly.
Lance nodded, and Kitty began to shake her head. 'But, he's done so much for me..' she was interrupted as Rogue snorted. Kitty looked at her questioningly.
'I'd gladly leave if it was just the professor there.' She said, a storm beginning to form in her eyes that made everyone round the table just a little bit fearful of her.
'Why though Rogue? You still never told me what went on with you two.' Kitty said, still puzzled over her friends change in attitude towards the Professor.
Rogue took a deep breath. Now was the time to tell them all what had happened that day when she had found out about her powers. She had tried to hold the information back from them, but she knew, deep down, that if she wanted them to believe her about the Professor being dangerous, then she would have to tell them about what happened.
So she did. She told them of her power surge, of Mystique revealing herself as her mother. She talked about the necklace that she was given, and the fact that the Professor had never told her about all of this. She finished by telling them of her mother's warning, and gave them all a few seconds for the information to sink in.
Most people round the table looked like they'd just been caught in a hurricane. Lance alone looked unsurprised, Rogue had told him the whole story before, and he'd been incredibly supportive about it.
'But,' Kitty said, finally finding her tongue. 'If Mystique said it, maybe she's just trying to turn you against the Professor, I mean you're so powerful.. Maybe she's working for Magneto.'
'No', Rogue said firmly, 'she wouldn't lie about that. She cares about Kurt, and me in her own twisted way, and she wants to protect us. And there's something else. I looked into the Professors mind, when he saw me in his office, and there's something in there, something almost evil.' She finished, unsure of what else to say.
The news that the Professor might be evil didn't really shock the Brotherhood. Pietro put his arms round Rogue's shoulders and held her close. Kitty however, looked scandalised.
'But the Professor cannot be evil. He took us in, he's teaching us how to control our powers, to use them for good.'
'And he also controls us as well.' Rogue finished for her, then explained. 'Look, the Professor has the power to decide how fast our powers develop, and what we use them for. Think about what happens if we use our powers without telling him, we get punished, we get told to 'control our powers'. But he's really the one controlling the powers, and that's why he didn't tell me about who I really am. He knew he wouldn't be able to control my power, and he wouldn't be able to contain it. If I hadn't found out from Mystique, I might never have known I had these powers, or that I could touch.' She finished, and Pietro held her even closer.
Kitty began to nod slowly, as if she were beginning to come to terms with what Rogue had said.
'Please Kit' Lance pleaded with her. 'The guy will be trouble, just come with us, we'll manage together.'
'No, not now'.
It was Rogue that had spoken, her face sad but firmly set. The Brotherhood looked aghast.
'We can't. Things down at the mansion have changed. There are good people in there, and they need to be warned as well. They need a chance to get out too, but I need time to convince them.' She said simply.
'And is Summers one of these good people?' Lance asked, a slight frown appearing on his face. Pietro said nothing, but she felt his hold on her loosen slightly, like water trickling through her hands.
She met Lance head on. 'Yes he is. He's stuck up, but he's not evil, and he doesn't deserve to be treated like that.' she spoke firmly, and lance was silent for a few moments before he finally nodded quickly, an unspoken understanding formed between them.
Rogue looked round at them all. 'It's going to happen soon, we're going to have to make a choice, unite together, X-men and Brotherhood, and live as young people trying to make our mark on the world, or stay as we are, and drown in the world we already live in. we'll come and join you soon guys, but only if you're willing to accept us.'
The rest of the table nodded mutely, all shocked by just how eloquent Rogue had become. Even Pietro couldn't argue with her, even about the Scott Summers aspect. He'd never been this scared about losing a girl before, and knew more and more each day, that he was falling in love with Rogue. They had to stay together, or he'd go crazy.
Rogue seemed to sense what he was thinking. She knew Pietro was insecure about her and other guys, even though they weren't officially going out. But was he right about her and Scott? Was there something there? She pushed the thoughts out of her head as she leaned in and kissed quicksilver softly on his jawbone, and whispered good night in his ear. She filled the kiss with all the tenderness she possessed, and Pietro was reduced to a gooey lump on the floor.
Rogue smiled as she got up. She waved to the rest of the Brotherhood as Kitty kissed Lance goodnight, and the two girls left the pizza parlour. The four boys sat around the table, absolutely exhausted, as Kurt and Tabby came bounding over.
'So' Kurt grinned, his arm round Tabby's shoulders 'did we miss anything?'
Rogue and Kitty made it back to the mansion about thirty seconds before curfew, laughing at the disappointed look on Logan's face as he saw them enter the mansion. Both girls were too tired to really stay up, and as Kitty won the battle for the bathroom, Rogue was forced to leave for the shower room on the other side of the building. She checked she had everything as she was walking down the hallway, and didn't even notice Scott was there until she walked right into him.
The force wasn't very big, but both teenagers were startled to see the other standing there. There was a pause, and then Scott said.
'Congratulations on the tournament today, even if it was eventually called off.' He said, knowing exactly who was responsible for the chaos. He even suspected that Kurt may have been involved, but he wasn't going to report him to Professor Xavier. In all honesty, Scott felt recently, that the less he had to do with the Prof the better. The man had always hidden things from them before, and Scott had always accepted that it was for his own good. But lately, well, the guy had just been a little strange. It crept him out.
'Thank you,' Rogue said quietly, stirring him from his thoughts. She opened her mouth slightly, hovering on the edge of saying something, before she continued. 'And thank you again, for saying that stuff you did this morning.'
Scott raised his eyes to her face hopefully, and had no idea what was hidden behind it. 'Hey, I was just trying to make you feel better about wearing a tie!' he said, laughing away the awkwardness.
Rogue joined in, her giggling ringing like bells throughout the corridor. 'Well, you did more than that; you reminded me who I was. I'm so caught up in all these changes, I guess I'd almost forgotten.' She said, not giving him any hint as to what she meant by that.
Scott nodded, pretending that he understood her, when he knew he wasn't even close. Rogue was a complete mystery to him, and still he couldn't get enough of her. He was beginning to believe that he was in love with her. Which wasn't good, being that he was pretty sure Pietro Maximoff felt the same way.
Scott chanced another glance at the object of his affections, who looked just as deep in thought as he was. Scott managed to mumble his good nights, and Rogue, holding up her wash things by means of explanation, took of down the hall.
Scott collapsed against the wall, and wondered what the hell he was going to do.
The next day, school had been called off, due to extensive damage in the auditorium from the sprinkler system, and the absence of a principal. The news was broken over the radio that morning, to much applause amongst the X-men. Scott looked around, an idea forming in his head.
'Hey' he said, looking around at the others. 'What do you say we take the convertible and the jeep, and head to the beach for the day?'
The suggestion was met with enthusiastic response from all round the table, and Scott smiled. Whatever problems his infatuation with Rogue had caused, she certainly had helped him try and get rid of his 'stuck up' image. He met her eyes across the table and she smiled, as though she too had been thinking that he'd loosened up recently.
After everyone had agreed, and Logan had grudgingly Okayed the trip, the x-men left the table to grab their stuff, all except for Jean, who got up from the table and headed for the Professors study. Rogue and Scott followed her, Scott calling after her.
'Jean, aren't you coming?' he asked, a little surprised. Sure they hadn't really been getting on recently, but Jean was his oldest friend, he didn't want to stop being friends with her entirely.
Jean stared at him for a moment, and at that point Scott had a funny feeling she might have been reading his mind. She smiled slowly and shook her head. Scott shrugged and went to fetch his pack. He noticed that Rogue still hadn't gone upstairs.
'Don't' tell me you're not going.' He groaned, and Rogue grinned, waved her hand, and a fully packed bag came flying down the stairs.
'Ready!' she said, smiling sweetly, as Scott rolled his eyes and began to climb the stairs.
Jean practically ran to the Professors study.
Charles Xavier was very tired. He had never stretched his incredible mind so very far, and the effects were rather taxing on him. Rogue had undergone several dosages of the poison he and Jean had created, and still he was unable to penetrate the barriers she had created around her mind. It was just so frustrating; having a power and not being able to use it on the person it was most need for.
The door flew open, and Jean came storming in, causing the Professor to smile. True, Scott had always been his favourite recruit, owing to his position as deputy, but he'd always had a soft spot for Jean too, as she was a fellow telepath, and he had big hopes for the two of them. But Rogue was causing trouble in that area too, she was beginning to make Scott suspicious of him, he could see it. And she was creating problems between Scott and Jean, and the Professor greatly disapproved of that. That young lady thought she could take Jean's place, just because she had some psychic ability. She thought she could take the x-men away from him, that she could take Scott away from him and Jean. All the points added up to one thing. Rogue needed to be gotten rid of, it simply wasn't enough anymore that she lost some of her power; she was just too much trouble.
Jean waited until the Professor was through with whatever he was thinking about before she spoke, and when she did it was with a shaky voice.
'Professor, the poison, it's having no effect at all. She can still use the telekonisis flawlessly, she..'
'That is why we must increase the strength and dosage Jean.' The Professor said, cutting her off. It was important that they dealt with Rogue as quickly as possible, before she became too big a power.
'I feel though' he said, touching his chin lightly, and feeling a small layer of stubble there. It had been years since he'd had stubble. 'I feel that that alone is not enough, we must make plans to deal with Rogue.' He said, beckoning Jean forward as he outlined his carefully constructed plan to her. Jean listened carefully, and a part of her was appalled by what she heard.
'It is necessary Jean, do get rid of Rogue, don't you agree?'
Jean didn't hesitate for even a second before she agreed.
The X-men were lucky enough to catch the beach on a glorious day. The sun was shining brightly in a cloudless sky, and the water was warm and crystal clear. Once you got over the salty aroma that floated in the air, and the obvious presence of salt in the sandwiches, it really wasn't bad at all. That's what Rogue thought as she stretched out luxuriously on her towel, marvelling again at how wonderful it felt to expose her skin to the sunshine. The boys were engaged in a rather interesting game of volleyball, made interesting by Kurt's unusual tactics.
Rogue and Kitty laughed as Evan tried again to explain to Kurt that you couldn't teleport higher up to get a better aim at the other team, and that knocking people over wasn't the actual point of volley ball.
Kitty surveyed Rogue from behind her sunglasses. 'Wow, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were, like, beginning to get a tan!' she said, giggling as Rogue put on an outraged expression.
'Me, Rogue? Get a tan? Never!!' she exclaimed, before having to duck as Kurt sent the volleyball flying in her direction, followed by a cry from Evan.
'The point isn't to hit the spectators either Kurt.'
The elf materialised behind the girls, picked up the ball, laughed at the sandy patch on his sister's back and said 'I know!'
Rogue couldn't even manage half a glare before she broke into laughter again. It felt good, she couldn't remember laughing as much as she had in the last week or so.
The X-men were disturbed then by a group of figures making their way up the beach, as they came into focus, the outline of Fred could easily be distinguished. Rogue tensed up, remembering what she had said to them the night before, would they do what she'd asked them to?
Lance led the group over to them, and smiled reassuringly at Rogue, before Evan stepped up to Pietro, glaring. Stupid Evan, Rogue thought angrily, he needs to forget about the rivalries.
Lance however, didn't pay any attention to them; his eyes were locked on Scott, who walked right up to them. There was something different about the way in which they stared each other out, it wasn't so much confrontational, and it was more as though they were working out which side each was really on.
From behind Scott, Bobby spoke up, rather bravely. 'What are you guys doing here?'
It was Tabby who answered, laughter still ringing in her voice. 'It was Lance, he seems to have a homing radar for Kitty!' she moved to run away, but was surprised to see that Lance didn't move. Kitty however, blushed furiously.
Something changed in Scott's face, and his eyes narrowed. He turned away from Lance, and walked several feet away down the beach. He picked up something, and again faced avalanche, this time with the volleyball in his arms, and a small smile creeping up the corners of his mouth.
'Fancy a game?' he said impassively, and Lance smiled back.
'Sure'.
The rest of the X-men let out the breath they'd been holding, and all seemed to have a new lease of pent up energy, as everyone agreed to join in the game, though Kurt was told that if he used his powers he would have to sit in a sin bin for the remainder of the game. Tabby even went so far as to draw him a sin bin in the sand, labelling it with a stick, writing 'Kurt's little sin bin, a place where all the naughty elves go.'
Evan looked at Pietro from the other side of the net, saying 'this is going to be sweet, I'm gonna cream you Maximoff!'
Pietro caught Rogue's eye before he replied.
'Sure Daniels, whatever you say.'
It was one of the best days both groups had had in a long time, with everybody rather glad that they had decided to do battle on the court instead of with fists like all the other times. And they had fun, without having to think about insults, or being tensed and ready for a fight all the time. Rogue was ecstatic.
The sun was beginning to set as Pietro took her hand and literally whisked her away. He stopped with Rogue in his arms, and she looked around her to find that they were alone, and staring out at the sun casting shadows on the ocean waves. Rogue smiled and sank into his embrace.
'It's been a good day,' she murmured against his chest, and he stroked her hair gently, both listening to the gently lapping of the tides, glad to find moments like these that they wanted to last forever.
Rogue let go and looked up into his face, before pulling him down towards her, giving him a kiss that thanked him more than words could say for how he controlled himself on the beach. She broke the kiss many seconds later, and Pietro backed away a little, his face a little dazed.
'This day just got better.' He said, and Rogue smirked, sinking again into his arms, settling down to listen to the sea.
'Promise me' Pietro said, 'promise me you'll never leave me, without an explanation. I'd go crazy without you.'
Rogue, sighed her eyes half closed. 'I promise you Pietro, never.'
They stayed like that until the moon took over the suns watch, and the waves turned dark before them.
DISCLAIMER: Characters and situation are the property of Marvel and the WB
AUTHORS NOTE: See, told you I'd get it up quickly! Well, sometime soon we're going to see just what Professor X's dastardly plan is, and things are going to get very rocky for the mutants. Ah well, they'll pull through, I promise you. Well, most of them anyway. Thank you all for reviewing, please keep it up, I need them for inspiration!